Food On The Edge 2019 Officially Launches

The national launch of Food On The Edge 2019 took place on Monday August 26th at Dylan McGrath’s Fade Street Social in Dublin. The event was attended by Irish chefs, industry leaders and media.

With a robust international line-up of speakers, the main theme of Food On The Edge 2019 is ‘Migration’ which will examine ‘how food travels and how that affects people's perception of food’. While the core focus of Food On The Edge continues to explore ‘Future of Food’ within a global and national perspective.

JP McMahon, founder and symposium director of Food On The Edge, and longstanding Good Food Ireland provider, said this about the new theme, “There has been a natural evolution within Food On The Edge over the years which reflects the changes in food culture on a global level. We have seen a progression away from simply talking about food to recognising the power of food as a tool for social change.”

JP added, “Food On The Edge is the avant garde of Irish food culture. We bring some of the best chefs and industry professionals together to inspire us to change the way we think about food in Ireland. We bring them also to showcase our beautiful country with its rich history and heritage. It is an ongoing dialogue between us and them, transforming and developing the future of our food and food culture on this island.”

This year’s impressive line-up includes cult chefs and stars of the Netflix series Chef’s Table, namely Brazil’s most influential chef Alex Atala of D.O.M, and New Zealand-born Ben Shewry of Attica restaurant. Columbian chef and winner of 2017 Best Female Chef in Latin America Leonor Espinosa of Leo Cocina y Cava will be attending as well as trailblazer Daniel Giusti, former head chef of Noma in Copenhagen, who set up Brigaid, a project which puts professional chefs into public schools to transform and rethink school food.

Recently announced speakers include Darina Allen and Rachel Allen of Ballymaloe Cookery School will take the stage together; Esben Holmboe Bang head chef and co-owner of Norway’s three Michelin-starred Maaemo; Chef Bo Bech of Copenhagen's Geist; Frida Ronge, Culinary Director of Tak and Unn in Stockholm; and Billy Wagner, Owner, Host and Sommelier of Berlin’s Nobelhart & Schmutzig.

Speaking at the launch, Sinead Hennessey, Food Tourism Officer at Fáilte Ireland, said, “We are delighted to support Food on the Edge as part of Fáilte Ireland’s new ‘Taste the Island’ initiative, a 12 week celebration of Ireland’s food and drink taking place this September, October and November. Fáilte Ireland research tells us that tourists are not always aware of our high-quality produce and the sustainability credentials around our food and drink before visiting. We are aiming to address this lack of awareness and highlight Ireland’s seasonal ingredients, adventurous tastes and bold experiences through ‘Taste the Island’ and Food on the Edge, which aims to challenge our perspective on food, brilliantly showcases the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland as an innovative food destination.”

Signature snacks at the launch celebrated Irish food and were prepared by chefs Ross Lewis, JP McMahon and Paula Stakelum.

Food On The Edge 2019, the two-day programme of 15-minute talks, panel discussions, masterclasses and networking activity, with an artisan food village showcasing the best of Irish and West of Ireland food produce. The event will take place on the 21st and 22nd of October in Galway.

Gather & Gather and Fáilte Ireland are principal sponsors for Food On The Edge 2019. San Pellegrino are returning as major sponsors, along with new major sponsors, Galway Bay Brewery.

For more information see www.foodontheedge.ie. Check out @FoodOnTheEdge on social media and follow the official hashtag #FOTE2019 for regular updates.